ArcWatch: GIS News, Views, and Insights

By Carla Wheeler
Esri Writer

Space. It’s a new frontier for scientific research and social media. International Space Station astronauts Chris Hadfield and Thomas Marshburn took Twitter to new heights when they sent Tweets embedded with stunning photographs of Earth to their followers. David MacLean, a GIS faculty member at Nova Scotia Community College, worked with his students to create a unique app to map the Tweets and the images. Read the article.

The Our World From The ISS app mapped photos and Tweets from astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Feathering is a technique that makes the area you want to highlight on your map stand out and helps your audience focus on what’s important in the map. Read this tip to learn how to create the feathering effect.

ArcWatch is published monthly by Esri and contains GIS news, practical advice, and updates about the company's software and events. To submit article ideas, e-mail editor Carla Wheeler at arcwatch_editor@esri.com.

The Headlines

The new ArcGIS Marketplace offers apps and data from qualified providers that you can use with your ArcGIS Online subscription. Some apps and data will be available at no cost, while others can be purchased. Read the article.

Want to learn geospatial development techniques, see the latest technology from Esri, and meet with the developers who build ArcGIS? Join us at the Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) in the United Kingdom or in the United Arab Emirates. Read the article.

Esri technology powers this US Severe Weather Map, which includes the latest tornado, hailstorm, and precipitation reports along with weather statements, some historical data, and weather-related social media posts.

Learn how to put GIS technology to work for your ocean research and exploration, fisheries, coastal protection, and aquaculture projects. Attend the Esri Ocean GIS Forum, to be held November 5–7, 2013.

Centerpoints

You can use the new landscape layers (available with your ArcGIS Online for Organizations account) in either ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS for Desktop. This growing collection of layers supports landscape analysis. Read this blog to get started using them.

The city of Pori, Finland, uses Esri ArcGIS to help determine when to plow, what vehicles to use, and what routes to take in this city with a population of 84,000. GIS saves the city time and fuel costs, says Timo Widbom, GIS specialist for Pori. Read the article.

Web maps can transform geography, history, and civics from long reading assignments into visual learning experiences. In this article, Esri education manager Joseph Kerski explains how students can use ArcGIS Online in their social studies classes.

Technical Talk

Developers have a new powerful tool in their ArcGIS Online toolbox. With the GeoEnrichment capabilities in ArcGIS API for JavaScript, you can create a web app full of interactive demographic, consumer spending, and lifestyle data. Read this blog.

Endpoints

Pay a virtual visit to the Esri campus in Redlands, California, using this story map. You will see the gardens near the entrance, the state-of-the art conference center, the fitness center, the Esri Café, and more.

The primary skills you need to be successful at using GIS in the industry today are explained in The GIS 20: Essential Skills. The second edition adds nine bonus skills and a 180-day trial of ArcGIS 10.1 for Desktop. Buy the book.